I often respond to questions from readers on the private equity interview process. Here is a question I recently responded to:

Q: What are Bain Capital pre-MBA private equity associate interviews like? 

A: I worked for a Bain Capital PE spinout previously, which was basically a huge “team liftout” from Bain Capital and Bain & Company, including the head of worldwide HR at Bain Capital and the former chairman of the Bain Capital management committee. They adopted a lot of the same screening, hiring, and training techniques that Bain Capital did, and here is what I encountered in my interviews.

The process was structured over 3 rounds, with the type of people at each step and the kinds of questions asked varying between rounds. It consisted of a heavy combination of case interviews, technical finance questions, modeling tests, and personal fit interviews to test 6 things:

1. Financial modeling
2. Operational modeling
3. Macro / market due diligence
4. Strategic analysis (as tested through case interviews)
5. Creating slide presentations
6. Personality fit

Be sure to check out our PDF guide “How to Nail Your Private Equity Interview (whether you have finance training or not)” for in-depth tips and strategies on how to successfully interview for associate jobs at top PE firms like Bain Capital.

Also be sure to check out our step-by-step Private Equity LBO Modeling Training Videos for walk-through tutorials on how to build an LBO model, navigate Excel with ruthless efficiency, and rapidly create an LBO PowerPoint deck to present to your PE interviewers.

Get our FREE 10-part email mini-course on how to break into private equity: networking, interviewing, and LBOs

(No spam or BS, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.)

High-five, you're almost there! Please check your email and click the link to confirm your subscription. (If you don't see it, check your spam box and mark it "not spam.")

Aw, snap. It didn't work. Did you fill in your email?